PLAN WORRIES REAL ESTATE AGENTS

After renting an apartment in town for two years, Bob and Liz Santoro recently began looking for a house in West Hartford. It's the schools, they said.

But since the board of education approved a plan last month to restructure elementary schools, Bob Santoro said they will no longer look for a house here.

"It's certainly affected our purchasing decision," said Santoro, an engineer. "Now we are looking at other towns. If I'm going to pay high taxes for a house in a particular neighborhood, then I want my children to go to that neighborhood school."

The Santoros don't have children yet. But their motivation is similar to that of many parents who bought houses in West Hartford primarily because of the high quality of the town's school system. Often, the decision on whether to buy a house hinged on its proximity to a particular school.

All that may be changing after the school board approved a plan to restructure the town's elementary schools in an effort to provide equal education for all students. Under the plan, parents of elementary school children will no longer be assured that their children will be attending the school closest to their homes during all six years of elementary school. Many of the children will be bused.

These changes, say more than a dozen real estate agents interviewed during the past two weeks, are creating concern and confusion among some buyers with young children. Most of the agents said they are already experiencing the negative impact of the school board's decision as they see buyers now approaching the West Hartford real estate market with care.

Some agents are predicting that towns such as Avon, Simsbury and Farmington, which also have strong school systems, will benefit as more buyers look for a traditional elementary school system.

"This has really hit the buyers, especially when they ask which school their kids will go to," said Tommie Fenichel, an agent with Compass Realty. She said two prospective buyers recently eliminated West Hartford from a list of prospective towns to live in because "of the unstable school system."

"There's a lot of fear out there. Out-of-town buyers are now looking to other towns," she said.

"Everybody who calls asks me what's happening," said Ina Cooper, also of Compass Realty. "Buyers don't like disturbances and they have a fear of the unknown. Upheaval in the school system usually means buyers don't even want to look in that town. New buyers from out-of-town are now avoiding West Hartford."

Town and school officials have planned a series of meetings during the next two months to talk with real estate agents about the changes and to try to ease concerns.

A minority of agents and residents say they believe homeowners could benefit from the plan.

School Superintendent John J. Battles said homeowners who live near one of the planned three magnet schools could see their property values rise. Students who live within a certain distance of the new magnet schools will be given first choice to attend those schools. The distance has not yet been determined.

Battles said in such a situation, those houses become more valuable.

"Those parents within the established attendance zones will have the first option and won't have to go through a lottery or other method like the rest of the town," Battles said. "That opportunity will enhance that neighborhodd immediately."

Some agents also said that houses near schools such as the Charter Oak and Whiting Lane elementary schools could increase in value. Their values may have been depressed because those schools are the most crowded in the town and about half the students in each school are either eligible for a federally subsidized meal plan or don't speak English at home.

Now, with the new plan's promise of providing equal education to all students, agents said stereotypes and labels about the various town schools could be lifted.

"Special schools might enhance property values all over town," said Martha Fine, the West Hartford manager of Heritage Realty. "If they are first rate with special programs or features, it could be to everyone's benefit."

The planned changes in the elementary schools have divided parents. Some love the plan and welcome the change while others have vowed to fight the measure, possibly in the courts. Two groups -- one for the plan and one against -- have formed, and last week more than 500 residents attended a meeting formed by the opposition group.

The new elementary school plan will eliminate the traditional kindergarten through fifth-grade schools by the end of the 1997-98 school year.

Instead, there will be kindergarten through second-grade schools, third- through fifth-grade schools and magnet schools emphasizing specialty themes or curriculum.

Under the plan, each kindergarten through Grade 2 school will be paired with a grades 3-5 school. Such pairing would be intended to mix children from different neighborhoods. For example, if Whiting Lane were to become a grades 3-5 school and Braeburn a kindergarten through Grade 2 school and the two were paired, all younger children from both neighborhoods would attend Braeburn while older children would attend Whiting Lane.

The method requires children to switch schools at third grade. The pairing, for example, would reduce the numbers of poor children or non-English-speaking children at Whiting Lane and increase their numbers at Braeburn.

The pairings have not yet been determined, and are not expected to be announced until next month. The entire plan, including the choice of magnet schools, is not scheduled to be completed until late November and transportation costs and bus routes are still unknown.

That's part of the problem, agents said.

"You feel a little on hold while you wait to hear more," said Fine, of Heritage. "The bother is the uncertainty. It's hard not knowing what the plan means and what it means for the future of the schools.

"A lot of buyers feel that way," she said. "One buyer said, `You can't think of it as, `I want to be in this school or that school,' because you won't be once the reorganization takes place and the schools are blended. Some people think it's exciting and others think it is horrible."

Phil Cote is one of the parents who thinks the plan is terrible.

"If I wanted my kids to go to the Charter Oak school, then I'd have moved to the Charter Oak neighborhood," said Cote, who has two children and lives in the Norfeldt neighborhood. "I bought my house in West Hartford specifically for the schools. Now I'm considering moving to Farmington. The houses are just as good in Farmington and now the schools may even be better."

There is no question, many parents said, that the quality of West Hartford's schools is slipping, mainly because of budget referendums that have caused a significant reduction in school services, including the elimination of the gifted program and smaller budgets for books and supplies. West Hartford, which once ranked first among per pupil expenditures in Connecticut, has now dropped to 41st. To maintain smaller class sizes among a growing population, schools here are using every space available, including closets and former locker rooms.

Private schools may also benefit from the changes.

Susan Maier is renting a townhouse but has been looking for a house in the Braeburn School area. She found a house she wanted to buy just as the school board approved the new plans. Maier made no bid on that house and said her new-house money is now going to send her son to a private school.

"I'd rather use up all my savings and not have one dime left over than have my child exposed to a busing system that will create anxiety and stress in his life," Maier said. "I'm concerned about property values, about busing and about the quality of the education in West Hartford."

Agents said they have also offered buyers some comfort when they explain that the plan will not separate neighborhood children. When schools are paired, all of the children from one neighborhood will attend the same school, unless parents choose to have their children sent to a magnet school.

Other agents said the effect of the plan may not be known for some time. Even the early signs of unrest and discomfort among buyers is hard to predict, they said, because August is generally a slower month. Agents said the uncertainty over the school plans is probably contributing to the month's slump, but is not the only factor.

"I've been in situations like this and it always starts out with some uncertainty and people do get unhappy," said William Vibert, manager and an agent with Prudential Connecticut Realty. "The question is, how many will eventually leave? Because if people don't like it, they will leave."

Those opposed to the plan contend that it will drive people away from the school system.

Herbert J. Shepardson, a leader of the opposition group called Citizens for Quality Education, said people have told him that "West Hartford will be far less desirable because of the unstable education system. That will drive down housing values.

"Most people, when they examine West Hartford, are also looking at Farmington, Avon and Simsbury," Shepardson said. "At this particular time, when all we have is a skeletal, broad plan that focuses on limiting neighborhood schools, I've heard from prospective buyers that they won't buy in town.

"People are very reluctant to buy into a town [whose] major selling point is the education system when they don't know what the educational system will be," he said.

School officials, meanwhile, contend the new plan will only strengthen all of the town's schools.

"This is not something that came up yesterday and we said, `Oh let's try it,' " said school board member Nancy Rion, a co-author of the plan. "We would not consider doing this unless each and every child was going to receive a better education because of it. It would be a lot easier, in many ways, to redistrict. But that doesn't improve the education our kids are getting. This is an opportunity to do that.

"I'm not sure where we missed the boat for telling people how absolutely positive this is going to be for the kids. That's a disappointment," she said. "Because I don't think people understand that we're creating a better school system. We're not shuffling people around just to shuffle people around, and we're going to have to work to help people understand that."